


unsteady

by sagscrib



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tokyo Ghoul, Dove Takaaki, Ghoul Takemichi, Other, enemies to begrudging half allies, i dont plan on writing any more of this but if i did there would be some mondo/taka/michi, nothing really happens here i just couldnt get this scene out of my mind, vague violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26982184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagscrib/pseuds/sagscrib
Summary: Takaaki finds an ally in an unexpected place, and he isn't happy about it.
Relationships: Ishimaru Takaaki & Yukimaru Takemichi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	unsteady

Takaaki tried to blink the fuzziness from the edges of his vision, willing the ghoul in front of him to come back into focus. He couldn’t die on his first mission out alone in more than 10 years. He’d shame his family more than his father already had.

He wasn’t as young as he used to be, though, and he was fading. He could feel the blood from his shoulder soaking through his shirt and he was fairly certain his leg was fractured. Despite his best efforts, he collapsed.

The next few minutes passed in flashes, punctuated by periods of dark- the ghoul, teeth bared, poised to kill, then a blurry figure standing between them, short, in jeans and a jacket with the hood pulled over its head, some sort of symbol stitched sloppily onto the back, then the first ghoul lying on the ground, unmoving, blood coming from gashes in his body that Takaaki certainly hadn’t put there, the new figure too close, looking through his pockets, then standing far away, speaking words into his phone that Takaaki couldn’t make out, then ambling down the street, his good arm slung over the figure’s shoulder, leaning on him heavily.

“You awake yet?” he said, jostling Takaaki slightly. Takaaki winced, sharp pain shooting through his arm as his shoulder was moved.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Now Takaaki got a chance to look at him directly. He was short, head barely coming to Takaaki’s shoulder, but clearly strong enough. The hood was still pulled over his head, covering his hair. It was hard to see much of anything in the flickering street lights, but he could clearly see the glint of a dull metal mask, covering the top half of his face.

“You’re a ghoul.” It was half a question, half a statement, punctuated by a rattling cough.

“Yeah,” he said. Takaaki couldn’t see him rolling his eyes, but he could hear it just fine. “I hadn’t noticed. Thanks for lettin’ me know.”

That wasn’t good. Takaaki squirmed out of his grasp, getting one step into his run before his leg crumbled beneath him. He fell with a shout.

The ghoul was standing a bit away, arms crossed. “You done?”

“Get away from me,” Takaaki said, scooting backwards. He hissed when he put weight on his torn shoulder.

He sighed. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have already, old man. Woulda let the other ghoul finish you off, then killed him while he was weak, but I didn’t, and I’m not gonna. You’re safe.”

Takaaki considered. He was right- there were certainly easier ways for him to get a quick meal. But ghouls were tricky- maybe this one liked to play with his food. Maybe he-

Before he could finish the thought, the ghoul squatted in front of Takaaki, his hand outstretched.

“Man’s promise,” he said. “I know that don’t mean much to you, but it’s fuckin’ important to me. I’m not gonna kill ya. I just need you to trust me for long enough to get you home, and then you can go back to tryin’ to kill me and all my friends, alright? Like none of this ever happened.”

Takaaki considered for a moment. His options were to either stay here in this back alley and hope someone eventually passed by, and that person wasn’t a ghoul or some robber down on their luck or a murderer looking for a target, and that they’d be willing to help him, or trust this ghoul.

Unfortunately, the latter had a better chance of getting him back to his son in one piece. Begrudgingly, he shook the hand in front of him, and the ghoul helped him back to his feet. Takaaki leaned on him again and they continued to amble their way down the street.

There was a long stretch of silence before Takaaki spoke up again, concerned. “How do you know where I live?”

“Called your son.” That sent a chill down Takaaki’s spine.

“...How do you know my son?” He did his best to keep the fear out of his voice. He had tried so hard to keep Kiyotaka as far away from his work as possible, but he must have slipped up somewhere.

“Relax, old man, you’ve got him to thank for me gettin’ you outta there in the first place. Someone I love cares about him a whole lot, so as far as I’m concerned your family’s under my protection until further notice. If that weren’t the case, you’d be just as dead as that other idiot, and me and mine’d be eating dove tonight.”

A strange blend of fear and relief blossomed in Takaaki’s chest. Assistance from ghouls could be… a problem, at the very least, especially in his line of work. If his superiors found out…

On the other hand, this boy could be useful. He could help them with leads, keep tabs on other ghouls, help keep Kiyotaka safe when he had to be away from home for too long.

Besides, he decided, it’d be foolish to turn down any help in his position. What would Kiyotaka think, knowing he had the chance to keep them both alive and turned it down?

Right, then. He’d allow this boy to help, but he wouldn’t trust him. Not until he knew where his loyalties lied, at least.

“Who are you?” he asked. The mask didn’t look familiar.

The boy laughed. “What, you don’t have me in that fancy computer system of yours?”

“No,” Takaaki said, honestly. “Should we?”  _ Are you a threat? A serial killer? Out for blood when you aren’t helping your enemy? _

“Nah,” the boy chuckled softly. “Dunno if you know this, but there are ghouls that aren’t any more keen about killin’ people than you are. Maybe less,” and the last two words had a sudden venom, subtle but certainly there. Guilt stabbed at Takaaki for a moment before he pushed it down.

The feeling wasn’t unfamiliar in his line of work. It was something he had to press through- just like everything else.

“What’re you gonna call me? When you do put me in there, I mean.” A blend of resignation and genuine curiosity.

He knew what helping him meant, Takaaki realized. It’d put a clear target on his back, put him in the sights of the Commission, no matter how careful he had been before.

There was a long silence while Takaaki rolled it over in his mind.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” he said, the words seeming to surprise the boy just as much as they surprised him.

“...You don’t owe me that,” he said. “This ain’t a I-scratch-your-back, you-scratch-mine kinda deal. You just make sure you and your kid are safe, and we’re even, got it?”

Takaaki let out a small, silent huff. It seems they both had trouble accepting help. Neither of them wanted this to be a friendship, or allyship, or equal exchange. Just begrudging proximity at the very most.

“It isn’t for you,” Takaaki said, and it was mostly the truth. “If the CCG finds out I let you get away, my job’s on the line. It’s better they don’t know about you at all.

The boy’s head turned in his direction slightly, whatever look he gave obscured by the mask, then nodded, once.

“...What would it be, though?” he asked.

“Why?”

“Always been curious.”

That was fair. Takaaki imagined he would be, too, but he wouldn’t chance a run-in with the CCG just to find out, either. He considered it.

“Usually we just describe ghouls by their mask, or the atrocities they commit, but ‘the one that looks like a horned, angry Komainu’ is a mouthful, and, to my knowledge, you haven’t…”

He let the sentence hang there. The boy didn’t seem to react, just stared straight ahead.

“Probably the wobbly compass rose on your back,” Takaaki finished.

“Hey, it ain’t a compass rose!” he protested, sounding indignant.

“Could have fooled me.”

“You try findin’ time to get good at embroidery while always on the run for your life, then you can get on my ass about shaky lines.”

Takaaki couldn’t argue with that. His wife was the only person in their house with any sewing skills, so all skill in that regard had left when she did.

They walked in silence a little longer, steps in a shambling rhythm, until they reached the stairs to Takaaki’s old, crumbling apartment complex.

“What floor are you on?” the boy said, readjusting his grip.

“You can leave me here.”

“And let you tumble your old ass 70 floors down? You don’t even have a cane, gramps. What floor?”

Takaaki remained silent. The boy huffed.

“I already told you, I’m not gonna fuckin’- listen, I’ll leave you at the stairs and you can walk your happy ass to the front door on your own, ok? I don’t want him to see me like this, either, but if you don’t tell me which floor you’re on, I’ll just knock on every last door ‘til your son answers. Now, you wanna do this the hard way, or are you gonna swallow your pride for five goddamn minutes and  _ let me help you not fuckin’ die? _ ”

The half of his face that Takaaki could see was twisted into an angry sneer. For a kid who couldn’t be much older than 19, he could be intimidating when he tried, it seemed.

“Fourth floor,” he said, resigned. The boy nodded shortly and they made their way up.

True to his word, the boy let Takaaki go at the landing of the fourth floor and turned, poised to slide down the railing.

“Don’t do that,” Takaaki said, and the boy huffed.

“Whatever, gramps.” Still, he stopped leaning on the handrail and walked, hands shoved in his pockets.

Takaaki watched the crooked, stitched lines until they were swallowed by the darkness, then leaned on the wall and made his way home.

**Author's Note:**

> a piece of media will be about found families and ill go OUGH. RIGHT IN MY GAY LITTLE HEART  
> i finished the first season of tokyo ghoul yesterday. i tried to watch the second season today but. it just isnt the same  
> I STILL LOVED SEASON ONE THO,,, if the manga's better let me know bc the fuckin complete 180 from s1 to s2 Aint It  
> @handere on tumblr did a cool drawing with ghoul takemichi, daiya, chi, and mondo and thats. literally the entire reason i watched it lol so go check them out  
> in case there's confusion, takemichi's mask is supposed to be the same as his belt buckle and the stitching on his back is the crazy diamonds symbol


End file.
